A welder, who defaulted on a small bank loan, committed suicide after he could not stand bank staff’s ‘coercion’. Younas Masih of Chak 401-JB Kujja, who had a welding shop on Shorkot Road, got Rs13,000 loan from the local branch of Khushhali Bank Limited and the amount inflated to Rs17,550 after he could not return the loan in time. Bank staff repeatedly visited his shop for recovery of the loan but he failed to arrange the money. The bank staff again visited his shop on Saturday and took away everything in his shop, including his welding plant. Locals intervened and got Masih’s belongings back from the bank staff and sought time for him to arrange the money. The bank staff gave him one hour, but Masih failed to arrange the money. He went to a friend’s shop and took poison. Rescue 1122 shifted him to the DHQ hospital. In the meantime, the bank staff again visited his shop and exchanged words with other shopkeepers when they told them that Masih had taken poison.The shopkeepers took the defiant bank staff to the hospital where they themselves saw Masih in a critical condition. Later, doctors referred Masih to Faisalabad’s Allied Hospital, where he died on Saturday night. Masih’s body was brought to his village by an ambulance and his widow had no money to pay to the ambulance. Local shopkeepers arranged the money for the purpose. A bank official said a recovery campaign was under way. He said the recovery in-charge went to Masih’s shop and he also gave him time to arrange money.